The Coldwell Banker difference was apparent from the start. In 1906, a young real estate agent named Colbert Coldwell surveyed the destruction wreaked on San Francisco by the devastating earthquake and fire. As he observed displaced families attempting to piece their lives back together amid rubble and ashes, he saw a tremendous need for honest, knowledgeable real estate people.

Coldwell disapproved of agents who acquired property from vulnerable sellers at unfair prices, then resold it at huge profits. With two partners he founded Tucker, Lynch and Coldwell on a decidedly different philosophy: the customer's best interest must be the guiding force behind all services.

Benjamin Arthur Banker joined the company in 1913 and became a partner a year later. Coldwell and Banker established a tradition of integrity, outstanding service, and customer satisfaction that endures to this day as the company's hallmark.

The company's early emphasis on commercial real estate soon expanded, and in 1937 its first residential real estate department was formed. In the 1970s, the company's residential real estate business blossomed through acquisitions in major metropolitan markets throughout the United States.

In the late 1970s, Coldwell Banker purchased a 51 percent interest in Executrans, Inc., a corporate relocation management company, from Allstate. That company became today's Coldwell Banker Relocation Services.

Coldwell Banker was acquired by Sears, Roebuck & Co. in late 1981. At the same time, the company launched Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates, Inc., aimed at franchising select brokers who served small to medium-sized markets.

In October 1993, Coldwell Banker embarked on an exciting new era when The Fremont Group, together with Coldwell Banker senior management, purchased the company from Sears, Roebuck & Co. The Fremont Group is a private investment corporation managing worldwide assets in excess of $5 billion. Operating independently since 1986 after splitting from The Bechtel Group, Inc., The Fremont Group's activities are guided by a nine-decade history of private business ownership, integrity, and hard work -- all of which are values also embraced over the years by Coldwell Banker and its people.

In the same year, Coldwell Banker entered into a joint venture in the Canadian market place by entering into a joint venture with Canada Trust Real Estate. Canada Trust Real Estate offices then changed names to Coldwell Banker. The K-W offices came under the management of Peter Benninger who acquired the Kitchener-Waterloo Coldwell Banker franchise becoming Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty.

Coldwell Banker is, among many things, one of the largest residential real estate companies in Canada in terms of total home sales transactions. One out of every nine homes sold in Canada involves a Coldwell Banker sales associate.

Coldwell Banker also is a leader in meeting corporate Canada's specialized relocation needs on a worldwide basis. Read about the Coldwell Banker difference.

The Coldwell Banker corporation and Peter Benninger Realty have achieved record sales despite some of the most difficult years in residential real estate. Rather than dwell on the state of the economy, we made our customers aware of the special opportunities available to them. This unique focus on the customer continues to pay dividends in the trust we engender, and in terms of financial success.